Minnesota’s Governor Pushes a Radical Idea: Give Schools More Money

Amidst a backdrop of rolling teacher strikes and union-government showdowns, Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Mark Dayton, recently made what may seem like a radical, pro-education proposal.

On May 1, as Minnesota lawmakers began wrestling over how to spend down a $329 million projected budget surplus, Dayton made a “late plea,” asking legislators to steer nearly $138 million into emergency funding for the state’s public schools.

This came just after Arizona teachers, for example, walked off the job in late April in direct conflict with their governor, Republican Doug Ducey. Aside from calling for salary increases, which they have apparently won, the state’s teachers lamented what they say is a loss of $1 billion in education funding cut from the state budget during the 2008 recession and never restored. Other state governors facing revolt from educators over stagnant pay and inadequate funding for public schools, from Oklahoma to Colorado, have as yet outright refused or been slow to act on teachers’ demands for more resources.

Some governors have, of course, proposed school funding increases as part of their states’ regular budget cycles. New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, recently requested a boost in education funds worth around $283 million. This is an amount some school superintendents decried as shockingly low, given the state’s history of “not following its own law for funding public schools.”

Dayton’s proposal would amount to a one-time boost in school district budgets, worth $126 in additional per-pupil funds for all Minnesota public schools. In arguing for this temporary increase in funding, Dayton cited recent news accounts of budget shortfalls for Minnesota’s schools, including a $33 million deficit for the Minneapolis Public Schools. All told, just over ten percent of the state’s 553 districts—including twenty-six in the Twin Cities metro area—are anticipating teacher layoffs and programming reductions for the 2018-2019 school year.

Just over ten percent of the state’s 553 districts are anticipating teacher layoffs and programming reductions for the 2018-2019 school year.

That is simply wrong, according to Dayton and his supporters. As outlined in a press release from Dayton’s office, per-pupil funding for Minnesota’s students dropped significantly in the early 2000’s, under former Republican governor Tim Pawlenty’s watch, and has never been fully restored. This is true despite Dayton’s success at pouring millions of state dollars into education funding since first elected governor in 2010.

Dayton is not running for reelection this year. In a twist, Pawlenty, who was a brief Republican presidential candidate in 2012, has now entered the Minnesota governor’s race after serving in the state’s top position from 2003-2011. While governor, Pawlenty earned a reputation for adhering to a no-tax pledge while simultaneously raising revenue through an increase of fees, including a steep rise in tuition for the state’s public colleges and universities. Pawlenty also famously withheld state aid to K-12 schools while attempting to push forward a balanced budget.

This is the political backdrop that has led Dayton to continually push to not only restore but significantly increase state money for public education. At a time when many prominent Democrats across the country, from Cory Booker to Arne Duncan, Rahm Emanuel and others, have aligned themselves with neoliberal education policies that revolve around school choice and competition, as well as the use of standardized testing and teacher evaluation schemes, Dayton has struck a more populist stance. In 2013, for example, Dayton vetoed $1.5 million in funding that would have expanded the presence of Teach for America in Minnesota.

Still, in order to deliver on his proposal, Dayton will have to win over Republican legislators, who hold the majority in both Minnesota’s House and Senate. So far, things aren’t looking too good. In recent days, the governor has embarked on a tour of public schools across the state, seeking support for his emergency school funding request. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers such as Jenifer Loon, chair of the Minnesota House education finance committee, have pushed back on the idea that Minnesota’s schools are underfunded.

“I have to question, is this truly an emergency?” Loon told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I’m not seeing that for all school districts.”

Instead, according to the paper, Loon and her Republican colleagues would like districts that are struggling to dip into their funding reserves or “get creative” in order to fend off staffing cuts. Republican legislators are also reportedly putting the blame for funding shortfalls on teachers and their labor contracts.

Carla Nelson, a Republican who serves as chair of the state Senate’s education committee, has argued in the press that “some districts have not been realistic about how much they can afford to pay their employees, and have entered into union contracts that are squeezing classroom budgets.” Nelson did not name a specific district, so it is unclear what examples she was citing. In Minneapolis, for example, the teachers union recently ended drawn-out negotiations with the school district. It ended in teachers receiving a one percent raise spread out over the next two years—hardly an outrageous spending increase.

And, in 2018, the St. Paul Federation of Teachers authorized a strike vote, although a walkout was averted at the last minute, thanks to a union-district settlement. Several of the key sticking points for the St. Paul Federation of Teachers were reportedly less about pay and benefits and more about an overall lack of funding for district initiatives, including smaller class sizes and greater programming for non-native English speakers. A news report from February noted that “both school officials and the union said the larger issue beyond the tentative deal is increased funding at the local, state and federal level,” indicating that a comprehensive investment in Minnesota’s schools is needed.

Although many Republican legislators appear to be keeping Dayton’s emergency school funding proposal at bay, Dayton is winding down his time in office on something of a high note.

Perhaps Dayton’s emergency school funding plan is not so radical after all

A May 8 report from the Economic Policy Institute noted that Dayton’s pursuit, since his 2010 election, of more progressive policies have brought a great deal of growth to the state. The Institute contrasted this with the anti-union, pro-tax cut agenda of Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, who was also elected in 2010. The data, it found, show that Minnesota’s economy under Dayton has thrived while Wisconsin’s under Walker has withered.

“Minnesota lawmakers’ large public investments in infrastructure, health care, and education fueled the state’s impressive job growth in construction, health care, education and other industries,” the Institute argued.

Perhaps, in this light, Dayton’s emergency school funding plan is not so radical after all.

Sarah Lahm is a freelance writer based in Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in The Progressive, In These Times, and other local and national outlets.